Best Tent Camping near Dale Hollow Lake

Been several times at different times of the year. The summer months fill up quick. Great place to visit on its own or with day trips to Mammoth Cave. Water slide, 2 pools, and other things for the kids to do during the hot summers. Karaoke, and games at night at the shelter. Food in the lodge is acceptable snacks for the pool but dont expect 4 star club food. Cabin Rentals, RV Site and Tent sites. All have a fire ring. Cabin came with a golf cart. Cabins are decent. group showers and restrooms are not that great. If I had one down side. If tent camping on the weekend bring earplugs. Durring the summer the adult beverages flow in the evening and into the night and the gas powered golf carts at 2am get annoying. Over all a great place in the summer for a close family retreat.

The tent camp sites on the island were aptly distanced from one another. The other campers seemed to have an unspoken sense of support. Multiple people offered ice, and even campground host offered to air up air mattresses.

There was plenty of driftwood on site to burn, but if you're going to cook all your meals, I'd bring charcoal or your own wood. Note: they have wood restrictions - heed those.

There was some noise at night from the boats, but nothing unmanageable or what I would consider a nuisance.

The island tent area is a park and walk and the campground has 2 carts for people to use.

The views from the island are unfathomably beautiful.

Had a nice week camping in a tent right on the side of the lake. The bathroom facilities were good, plenty of hot water for showers and the place was kept clean. When we stayed it was nice and quiet during the first week of the season.

Cove Creek at Dale Hollow lake in TN is a primitive campsite with lakeside camping. There are water faucets for drinking water and a pit toilet available. Great views of the lake and plenty of sites available

We took a pontoon boat out to Kemper Flats on Dale Hollow lake for a few days relaxing fishing. Primitive site, island with a porta toilet. Camp right on the side of the lake, very quiet and peaceful

Lillydale sits on Dale Hollow Lake, which -- for some delightful reason -- has serious limits on development. This makes for green hillsides, clean water, minimal power boats, and very, very few houses or businesses along the shores. 

The campground itself is clean and quiet. Hosts were very kind and helpful. Many of the sites back up to the lake; we were fortunate enough to find one of the lakeside sites, and just dropped our kayaks and paddleboards right into the water. 

The lake has dozens of little "fingers" and "tendrils," making for great little coves to paddle, explore, or just find some peace and quiet.

We'll definitely be back!

The tent sites are park and walk. The furthest tent site is about a 1/4 mile from where you park. Just an FYI.

I love the way this campground is set up. Sites are in sections in small loops. Very good for families. Kids can ride their bikes around the circle. Playgrounds are everywhere. Very clean. Full hookups. Nice pool and mini golf too! Only downfall here is their isn’t really a place to access gorgeous dale hollow lake without a boat... we could see it with a small drive but there isn’t a beach on the KY side. I also wish they would have mentioned the length to water hookup. We ended up having to go buy a longer water hose bc the hookup was more than 30 foot away. We now keep a 50 foot hose, but didn’t realize at the time there was actually hookups that far away.

We went during Wet N Wild week and the kids absolutely loved all of the activities there were... The excitement of the Witbit the first day left us sore for a couple days after... ALOT to do at the campground and around... However this is not geared for tent camping... there are minimal shade spots and 95% of the sites are gravel...water and electric are setup for campers not tents... also the whole not being able to squirt water from or too the golf carts is a bummer and killed the excitement. we will definitely be back if a better suited area for tent camping is developed...

This area has around 100 sites, both RV and tent sites both with and without electricity, so you can camp any way you'd like. All of the tent sites here are facing the lake so it feels a little more private. The RV sites are more grouped together (but I don't have an RV so I can't speak for these as much) There is some great hiking in the area and you can find some quiet and restful spots. There is the Lost Springs Trail that is right near the campground if you like hiking and hikes above the nearby Marina and this campground.

Pretty campground on water. Even though it's a mostly RV type place there are some good tent sites and it's a pretty remote quiet place. Very good bathrooms and showers.

We tent camped in August. The campground area was huge and perfect for tent camping or an RV. We were next to the restroom building which also served as a storm shelter. The restrooms were air conditioned and very clean! The only negative thing I have to say about the site is the fire ring needed to be cleaned out. The Rowena Landing restaurant had a good buffet and excellent catfish! The pool was closed for repairs and that was disappointing. The country store was very close and offered a small selection of foods, but most everything you would need for your campsite. The mini golf was fun, but there was a little flooding on the course due to a crazy storm the day before. Everyone was very nice and this felt like a safe place to be. The lake was crazy beautiful and worth going out on to see.

My only complaint is I didn't have more time to spend. Our site (L4) was shaded all day long, which is important when you tent camp. The grounds are well kept. Plenty of park hosted activities for kiddos and adults. A lot of trails, good clean pool, nice clean bathrooms, excellent staff!

Almost all of their sites have a view of the lake. Tent sites give just enough space for seclusion and everyone sites are on elevated platforms. Plenty of bathhouse access and if you like to paddle the candy is close by too.

We loved this primitive tent camping spot. All sites were nestled in the woods along the edge of the lake. Each site had a fire ring & tent landing. It was near parking, but all gear had to be carried into the woods. These were not pull in campsites. Shower house was a decent walk. Maybe at 1/4 mile? Water spigots were dotted throughout the woods, but not at every site.

Standing stone is a small campground that sits in a wooded area surrounded by green rolling hills and farmland. Sites on the outer edges of the loop give a good deal of privacy as they back up to the woods. Sites on the inner portion of the loop leave you more exposed to other campers.

There are some small hiking trails accessible right from the campground, but for more extensive hiking, you'll need to bike or drive to the trailheads; these are definitely worthwhile. They meander among the hills, have lots of creek crossings, and were quiet -- pretty much empty! IF you're interested in gravel bike riding, there are LOTS of gravel roads to ride close to the park. In terms of water activities, there's a small pond right inside the park, but for a real paddling or boating experience, Dale Hollow Lake is the place to go and less than ten minutes away by car.

Bottom line: If you're looking for a smaller campground with private, wooded sites, and want some hiking and gravel biking, come here and grab a site that backs up to the woods. If you're looking for direct access to water sports, you'll probably want to head over to Dale Hollow.

This is a great campground that offers a lot of amenities, including a bath house, fire rings, picnic tables and offers both RV and tent camping. The people in the campground were respectful and there were trailheads leading directly from the campground to the wilderness. Pickett is a great place to visit because it’s an international dark sky, there are beautiful natural bridges and lots of recreation opportunities.

The tent sites were really nice. I love how close you are to the water. It also includes two swim areas which is nice. Bathrooms are good in campground standards! The hiking trail is ok. Canoe the Caney is a few minute drive from the campground which is great if you like canoeing. We really enjoyed it!

This this campsite offers everything you need for a great camping experience. Out tent camping was complete with electricity and a short walk to the bathhouse. It also offered a fire pit and picnic table and lots of shade. You can rent a small Jon Boat for $50 a day and they also offer small bundles of firewood for $5. We fished on Kelly Lake and caught about six fish that were keepers.

Dale Hollow Lake State Resort Park is right on the Kentucky/ Tennessee boarder and not a short drive from anywhere. It is out in the farmlands, but worth the drive.

I drove to it from Cumberland Parkway, a very picturesque drive. The GPS took me right to the entrance no issues like there are with some other parks.

Once there the main areas are very well marked. The camp store has a somewhat useful map that will get you there by road.

My disappointment and frustration was the trails marked on the map. I'm not sure if some spurs are new, not used often or being reclaimed but we would start down a trail that had a trailhead sign and then the trail would just disappear into the weeds or a field with no signage.

The trail to Eagle Point was well used and a good walk to an awesome view.

The Campground is set up in what I call wagon train circles (lol) if your going with a large group it's perfect. People parked their toys and cars in the middle and set up in the sites around the hub.

if your not with a group you will probably have an opportunity to met your neighbor. There is not a lot of shade. There is a pool on site and cute little blue cabins to rent. Newer restrooms and a dumpstation. Tge horse ampground was adjacent to the regular campground.

The Marina and Lodge are at the end of the road and there was a golf course on the way in. Pretty much covers all the bases of outdoor entertainment.